At dismissal at Cruz K-12 in West Ridge on Thursday afternoon, kids walked out of school holding paper flyers. Students skipped across the lawn on North Ridge Boulevard to greet expectant parents — most of whom hadn’t heard about the charter school board’s vote the previous day to close the middle and high school.

Acero plans to close seven Chicago charter schools by June 2025, affecting 2,000 students, while the CTU urges CPS to absorb the schools.

In a move met with anger and shock by families and educators, the Acero Schools Board of Directors voted to close nearly half the schools in its charter network at the end of the school year. Richard Rodriguez,

CTU officials said their plan to sweep TIF funds back to CPS would help the district avoid mass program and personnel cuts.

The Acero Schools charter network is closing seven of its 15 charter schools in the Chicago Public Schools district. Blame the Chicago Teachers Union’s history of opposition to charter schools for spurring the school closures.

Days after Acero charter schools leaders voted to close seven schools, Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates wrote a letter demanding that Chicago Public Schools absorb them into the district in order to save them.